1. Field
Embodiments relate to a refrigerator and a water feed system usable with the refrigerator having an improved mounting structure for arrangement of a filter, water tank and valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a refrigerator is designed to keep food fresh at a low temperature by supplying low-temperature cold air into a storage compartment in which the food is stored.
A variety of large-volume refrigerators have been marketed to provide users with a more convenient lifestyle and a greater storage space. In particular, French door type refrigerators have been marketed, in which the interior of the refrigerator is divided into a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment by a horizontal partition, the refrigerating compartment is adapted to be opened or closed by double doors and the freezing compartment takes the form of a drawer to be drawn from a main body.
French door type refrigerators generally include an icemaker that makes ice inside a refrigerator main body and a dispenser that allows a user to dispense water from the front of a door without opening the door. This type of refrigerator further includes a water feed system to feed water to the icemaker or the dispenser.
The water feed system includes a filter, a water tank and a valve. Thus, the water feed system serves to purify water fed from an external water source and feed the purified water to the icemaker or the water tank under control of the valve provided at a junction of a hose connecting the filter to the icemaker and water tank.
In a conventional water feed system, generally, a filter, a water tank and a valve are arranged separately. In particular, the water tank is located in a refrigerating compartment, whereas the valve is located in a bottom machine room of the refrigerator, which results in an increased length and complicated configuration of a water feed pipe because the water feed pipe extends from the filter to the water tank and the icemaker by way of the valve.
In addition, separately mounting the filter, water tank and valve in a main body may entail an inconvenient assembly process.